Improvement in sole-protectors for boots and shoes



s.' Y. McNAIR. SOLE-PROTECTORS FOR BOOTS AND SHOES.

Patented- June 20,1876.

NPETERS, PHOTO-UTHOGRAFNER, WASNINGYON, D. C.

NITED STATES STEPHEN Y. MGNAIR, OF

PATENT OFFICE.

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN SOLE-PROTECTORS FOR BOOTS AND SHOES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No.178,942, dated J nne 20, 1876; application filed- November 29, 1875.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, STEPHEN Y. MCNAIR, of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have in ventedan Improvement in Sole-Protectors forBoots and Shoes, of which the following is a specification.

Boot and shoe heels and soles have been protected by metal rims attached to the under side near the edge, and such rims or wearplates have been applied at the edges of the sole and filled with leather. These, however, render it necessary to make the sole with special reference to their reception, and to apply them while manufacturing the boot or shoe.

My invention relates to a removable wearplate for sole or heel of a boot or shoe already constructed; and it consists in a double rim connected by vertical bars or webs, the upper rim passing in between the welt and the uppers when applied to the sole, and the lower rim passing below the sole, so as to compress or clamp the edges of the leather and strengthen the connection of the different layers of leather, and at the same time the metal rim at the bottom of the sole forms a wearingplate to render the sole more durable. The protectors are provided with tongues for conmeeting them when in place, and allowing them to be removed for wearing the shoes indoors, or under other circumstances where the protector is not required.

In the drawing, Figure 1 is a side "iew of the protector as applied to the sole of a boot or shoe. Fig. 2 is an inverted plan, and Fig. 3 is a section of the protector.

The upper rim a and lower rim 1) are connected by the webs or bars 0, and the rim a is of a character adapted to passing in between I the sole and the upper, and the rim b is broader and wedge-shaped sectionally, so as to be adapted to forming a protection to the edges of the sole, and lessen wear upon the same.

It is preferable to make these rims of malleable metal,-so that they may be bent to suit the slight inequalities of the boots or shoes, and the webs or bars 0 may be compressed by pressure or hammering endwisc, to lessen the distance between a and b to suit the different thicknesses of soles.

The tongues f g at the ends of the rim are shaped to extend partially across the shank.

portion of the boot or shoe, and lap the one upon the other, and holes may be made in these tongues, through which nails or screws may be inserted into the leather to secure the parts firmly to the boot or shoe. I, however, have shown slots in one tongue, and a hook at the end of the other, so that the latter catches into the former and holds the protector firmly to its place.

The devices hereinbefore described are available for either the sole portion or the heel portion of the boot or shoe, the only differences being in the shape of the rims and the lengths of the bars or webs c.

It will generally be preferable to construct the heel-protector with the end bars 0 c at the front portion of the heel, as represented.

I do not claim a sole or heel plate with books around the edges bent inward, and catching into the welt or rim of the sole, nor a plate that is removably secured by screws passing through slots in the plate. In my protector the two rims a and b are united by the webs or bars 0, and catch above and below the sole by the act of applying them around the sole, and they are easily applied or removed.

I claim as my invention The removable soleproteotor, made of the rims a I), connected by the bars 0, and bent to conform to the sole, and provided with means for holding the protector in place, or allowing of its removal, substantially as specified.

Signed by me this 27th day of November,

STEPHEN Y. McNAIR. \Vitnesses: GEO. 'l. PINOKNEY,

CHAS. H. SMITH. 

